Building Sustainable Communities

Community Engagement Increases

New figures released in February shows there was a sharp increase in the number of people volunteering and getting involved in community engagement in 2012.

Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd said “The Official Statistics published for the first time by the Cabinet Office show that the proportion of people volunteering at least once a year has now increased from 65% in 2010 to 2011 to 71% in 2012, with an even bigger increase in the proportion of people volunteering regularly. This equates to millions more people volunteering across the country showing that the cultural change is not limited to the 120,000 who volunteered to make the Olympics a success. Significantly, this reverses the steady decline in volunteering seen since 2005.”

The survey revealed that donations to charities increased in 2012 with 74% giving compared to just 72% in 2010 and 55% of those in the survey felt a very strong sense of belonging which is a 4% rise from 2010. Community happiness saw a huge increase with 79% of people reporting that they have strong links with their neighbourhood and 87% of people say their local community has a mix of different background all of whom have been able to imbed themselves into their local community.

Ministers believe that the figures are a vindication of their Big Society agenda to support people to get more involved in their communities. The government has backed a number of initiatives such as National Citizen Service for 16 and 17 year olds and the Olympic volunteering legacy programme Join In to engage a new generation in volunteering and civic engagement.

Prime Minister David Cameron said “We all want a bigger, stronger society where people do their bit and that’s why I am pleased that the Community Life Survey shows we are making progress. The figures show that millions more people are volunteering and that the British people remain incredibly generous with charitable giving.”

We have also recently added a Community Projects Page where you’re able to add information about your project, photos as the work progresses, a wish list of materials you require and also a section to thank those that donate materials or time. For help adding your project page simply email communities@recipro-uk.com.